Regina Celebrates Canada Day at Wascana Park – Regina | Globalnews.ca

Canada Day celebrations returned to Regina this year after a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19.

It was a Canada Day full of fun, food, performances and love for the country. Hundreds of people lined the legislative building grounds in Wascana Park on Friday to enjoy the festivities.

One of those attendees was Daniel Schmidt, who says he was having an amazing time.

“I’m hanging out, enjoying the sun, enjoying some festivities, this is a fantastic celebration,” Schmidt said.

The delay in public celebrations has made this year’s party an effort above and beyond. Carrie Hackel, director of marketing and communications for the Regina Canada Day committee, says there were obstacles to bringing this year’s celebration to life.

“Unfortunately, in the last two years we’ve lost more than half of our committee, so we’ve all had to do extra work this year to get things in order,” Hackel said. “We are very happy that families can go out and have a really nice day.”

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Schmidt echoes that happiness.

“It’s been crazy, but the cool thing about going out now for Canada Day is that we’re out in public with everyone enjoying and celebrating Canada Day, it feels fantastic…it almost feels like a new experience,” Schmidt said.

The day was full of fun for the whole family. Attendees enjoyed entertainment ranging from concerts to dance performances and magic shows.

The streets were also lined with many vendors and food trucks with a variety of different options including BBQ, hotdogs, ice cream, and slushies.

But for some, Canada Day had a more important meaning than simply participating in fun activities. On a day set aside for patriotism, it’s important to remember Canada’s indigenous history and ongoing reconciliation efforts.

Evan Whitestar, the indigenous advocate for Mother Teresa High School, along with other indigenous students from the school, were invited to Wascana Park to perform a First Nations dance and percussion performance as part of the day’s festivities.

“We are choosing not to celebrate Canada Day and acknowledge all the genocide that it took, but we are choosing to acknowledge our resilience as a First Nations community,” Whitestar said. “We find our upbringing, along with our culture and identity through our halls and we choose to embody what we want to be.”